Disciplinary Letters

Below are the first 3 disciplinary letters that I received, in just 10 days, after having received nonein my first 5 years. Must be a coincidence that I raised concerns about school issues just before.

File Letter 1 with the help of the false accusations by Susanne Abramowitz (SLT Chairperson) and Rich Candia (UFT Chapter Leader)

MY REBUTTAL

Listen to clip below. Short excerpt from the 17 minute recorded meeting described above.

I ask to meet with Rich and Susanne nice and calmly. Who sounds enraged? Who sounds like they are cursing?

Spread the Word:

19 Comments

This is common practice and happens in many schools. PS 329 in Brooklyn has the same type of principal. In fact the principal has been heard saying and I quote “We have ways of dealing with teachers we don’t like”. Teachers with excellent ratings for 10+ years all of a sudden start getting letters on a daily basis for nonsense. They are yelled and embarrassed in front of faculty and students. Some are threatened with their jobs to write false statements against targeted teachers. Students have been coerced into writing statements. Principals are given too much power. They become the judge, jury and executioner. If the principal doesn’t like you can pretty much consider your career over. These are people’s lives they are messing with… Something has to be done. A Class Action Law Suit Possibly????

Of all the ridiculous reasons to send you a disciplinary letter…..staying late so that you can be the best teacher you can be. Your whole situation makes me appreciate the school, principal and colleagues that I have even more. I think you were set up for that one. Yikes. So sorry you have been a part of such an unprofessional environment.

As a fellow teacher I feel your frustration and hurt. Two letters on the same day for different issues should have been enough of a red flag to those above your principal that something wasn’t right…that is assuming that the upper administration wasn’t also involved as sadly often they are. But I’d be curious to hear how they rationalized it being okay to discipline you over an email sent on January 29 through an account which it appears you were suspended from accessing on January 27. How would you have known about the staff emailed directive that I’m guessing was sent through that same domain? Quite frankly in my 10 years of teaching I’d never had an administrator be so particular about staff leave time (as long as teachers were out before the custodians had to close the building no one cared who was there after hours.) The fact that she felt the need to be sure that the building was cleared out when she was still there after that stated time makes me question what type of activity took place in the evening hours that needed such security measures. Good luck to you-I too am still fighting my district and know how difficult of a road it is…

I am going through that myself. I am a music teacher . Have been working in the NYC system for over 25 years. The new acting interim has written a letter after a students performance she asked me to put together in 2 weeks prior to the winter break. I did the impossible. She call me and said it was ackward, the students did not know what to do etc. Our population is growing to be ICT, serious behavior concerns, tons of ELL’s and special ed. All staff, audience and parents very pleased and enjoyed the performance. She on the other hand did not mention at all the positives of the performance. Never in my years of teaching (visited and observed and commended by others including arts supervisors for the NYC ED system have I experience such treatment. I am constantly attending PD for my expertise when mandated by the Arts Supervisors as well as my own free time. Now after another recent performance which she forgot to deliver the program and refreshments she had promised I am written and called to the office to discuss the preparation of the same. For this afterschool activity performance I have made sure to address all points she had asked me to improve. But she did not show upp to the performance parents were a bit disapointed but rather use to. In general the entire audience once again satisfied. She also, requested me to bring union representative for possible disciplinary actions. May colleagues are distressed about it.